K3 versus FT2K

[Julius Fazekas n2wn]

Barry,

I wonder about this and the Orions that seem to be on
the  second hand market so close to the initial
offering. That usually speaks of poor performance
and/or other issues (including warranty service).

Certainly any new product has the potential for having
issues, how the manufacturer responds to those
problems has as much to do with customer satisfaction
as the actual item.

While it is possible that the K3 may have some
problems, with the new manufacturing methods, I figure
the folks in Aptos will be highly responsive to any
issues real or perceived... They've done a lot to give
folks a valid reason to remain loyal to the Elecraft
brand.

Analyzing the risk and comparing it against other new
radios of a similar ilk. I'll take my chances with
Elecraft. I had been pondering a TenTec Orion,
particularly being in TT country. But a few locals who
bought the rigs have been less than ecstatic about
them, one has already sold his (and is waiting to see
my K3, before jumping back in). At $2K plus, I'm sure
there aren't a lot of guys who want to get burned
again.

Ye pays yer money and takes yer chances...
Fortunately, I feel comfortable with the K3 odds.

Cheers,
Julius
n2wn

"I've never owned an FT-2000, but I can't help but
wonder at the relatively high number of used FT-2000
radios offered for sale (eham.net, qth.com) - it sure
seems that a significant portion of new owners are
having issues with the radio.

73,
Barry N1EU"
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[Joseph Trombino, Jr]

----- Original Message -----
From: "J F" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>; "Elecraft Discussion List"
<[hidden email]>
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 9:04 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] K3 versus FT2K


> Barry,
>
> I wonder about this and the Orions that seem to be on
> the  second hand market so close to the initial
> offering. That usually speaks of poor performance
> and/or other issues (including warranty service).
>

---------------------snip---------------

I have had an Orion for over 3 years now without any issues.

The firmware has been revised and improved several times over the years and
you can pick the version that works best for you...that's what's great about
this radio.

Improving these radios with updated firmware revisions has resulted in a lot
of discussion on the Ten Tec list about nits-n-picks about flaws, etc but
they do not detract from the basic performance of the radio.

Ten Tec probably needs a few full time expert software writers to perfect
the firmware for these rigs but that will probably never happen....looks as
if Elecraft has them beat in this respect

However, the Orion has the best ham band receiver I have ever used....I had
an OMNI VI/3 for 9 years before selling it to buy the Orion.....tried out
the FT1000 for a weekend before buying the OMNI VI/3....no comparision from
my perspective.

There  no poor performance issues in either the Orion or the Orion II...they
are both superb radios with the some of the best receiver specs on the
market today.....that's why I purchased one (grin).

Compare the Orion receiver specs against the IC7800 and the FT9000 on the
Sherwood web site and see what I am talking about....the K2 doesn't do too
band either (bigger grin).

If the K3 can beat out the Orion(s) in receiver specs then it will probably
reign as the best receiving rig on the market today...I'm gonna buy a K3 to
use as my primary QRP rig and keep my K2 for portable ops....the best of
both worlds (grin).

Didn't want this list to get the impression that the Orion is a poor rig
with lots of problems.

I know that a lot of Orion owners are selling their rigs to upgrade to the
Orion II.....I thought about this but didn't thinking spending all that
money to upgrade to essentially only a new color display was worth
it....I'll spend that money on a K3 (grin).

                                    73, Joe W2KJ
                                    I QRP, therefore I am



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[Julius Fazekas n2wn]

Hi Joe,

What was explained to me was firmware/software issues,
primarily. Not being an owner, I can't say. Certainly
the TT crowd is as rabid about TT equipment as we
Elecraft are about ours ;o) I know the OMNI series is
still sought after.

I used an FT1000 and can't say that it impressed me. I
much prefer my K2, particularly for contesting. That
being said, judging by the number of want ads for the
1k's they can't be all bad either.

Of the three companies, I've contacted all the service
departments about parts/service for past rigs I've
owned. Elecraft is by far the most responsive, TT was
good, Yaesu was non-existent... That speaks volumes
for me!

Catch you in a couple weeks in WPX. Let the insanity
rule... may even go straight QRP ;o)

Cheers,
Julius
n2wn



--- Joseph Trombino Jr <[hidden email]> wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "J F" <[hidden email]>
> To: <[hidden email]>; "Elecraft Discussion
> List"
> <[hidden email]>
> Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 9:04 AM
> Subject: [Elecraft] K3 versus FT2K
>
>
> > Barry,
> >
> > I wonder about this and the Orions that seem to be
> on
> > the  second hand market so close to the initial
> > offering. That usually speaks of poor performance
> > and/or other issues (including warranty service).
> >
>
> ---------------------snip---------------
>
> I have had an Orion for over 3 years now without any
> issues.
>
> The firmware has been revised and improved several
> times over the years and
> you can pick the version that works best for
> you...that's what's great about
> this radio.
>
> Improving these radios with updated firmware
> revisions has resulted in a lot
> of discussion on the Ten Tec list about nits-n-picks
> about flaws, etc but
> they do not detract from the basic performance of
> the radio.
>
> Ten Tec probably needs a few full time expert
> software writers to perfect
> the firmware for these rigs but that will probably
> never happen....looks as
> if Elecraft has them beat in this respect
>
> However, the Orion has the best ham band receiver I
> have ever used....I had
> an OMNI VI/3 for 9 years before selling it to buy
> the Orion.....tried out
> the FT1000 for a weekend before buying the OMNI
> VI/3....no comparision from
> my perspective.
>
> There  no poor performance issues in either the
> Orion or the Orion II...they
> are both superb radios with the some of the best
> receiver specs on the
> market today.....that's why I purchased one (grin).
>
> Compare the Orion receiver specs against the IC7800
> and the FT9000 on the
> Sherwood web site and see what I am talking
> about....the K2 doesn't do too
> band either (bigger grin).
>
> If the K3 can beat out the Orion(s) in receiver
> specs then it will probably
> reign as the best receiving rig on the market
> today...I'm gonna buy a K3 to
> use as my primary QRP rig and keep my K2 for
> portable ops....the best of
> both worlds (grin).
>
> Didn't want this list to get the impression that the
> Orion is a poor rig
> with lots of problems.
>
> I know that a lot of Orion owners are selling their
> rigs to upgrade to the
> Orion II.....I thought about this but didn't
> thinking spending all that
> money to upgrade to essentially only a new color
> display was worth
> it....I'll spend that money on a K3 (grin).
>
>                                     73, Joe W2KJ
>                                     I QRP, therefore
> I am
>
>
>
>

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[Brian Lloyd-6]

On May 11, 2007, at 8:25 AM, Joseph Trombino Jr wrote:

> Compare the Orion receiver specs against the IC7800 and the FT9000  
> on the Sherwood web site and see what I am talking about....the K2  
> doesn't do too band either (bigger grin).

I have applied to the ARRL for an ETP (Education & Technology  
Program) grant for our elementary/middle school. I have asked them to  
provide a K2 kit for our station so that I can incorporate building  
and testing the transceiver as part of my ham radio and electronics  
extension to our science program. (I have a bunch of kids who have  
said they would like to get their licenses and build their own  
stations.) I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we get it.

I want the kids to have a decent receiver to work with. I want their  
early experiences on HF to be as good as possible.

> If the K3 can beat out the Orion(s) in receiver specs then it will  
> probably reign as the best receiving rig on the market today...I'm  
> gonna buy a K3 to use as my primary QRP rig and keep my K2 for  
> portable ops....the best of both worlds (grin).

The Flex-5000 has good RX specs too, better than the K2 and the Orion  
II. It remains to be seen if it is better than the K3. It is  
interesting that Flex Radio specs their IP3 numbers at 2KHz spacing.  
They didn't have a spec for BDR.

 From what I can tell right now, it looks like the shoot-out for  
"best receiver" might be between the K3 and the Flex-5000.

73 de Brian, WB6RQN
Brian Lloyd - brian HYPHEN wb6rqn AT lloyd DOT com


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